Lingering Sentiments
by The Rogue Lion
Summary: It wasn't just his prison. It was a barrier—a shield that prevented anyone from getting to him. And now, after the years have passed, that shield had done its job. Continuation of "Inner Sanctum" by Kuroy.


**Chapter 1**

He had envisioned this moment to be different. He thought that when he was released from his prison, he would see the smiling faces of his friends and mate. But now, the only thing he could see was something akin to a desert. The lack of green, blue, and yellows, among other colors, was different for him to say the least, but the color he missed the most was black.

It pained him from the depths of his soul to his physical being. The tears leaking from his eyes were clear proof he was suffering. His suffering continued without pause for several more minutes until a deep voice brought him out of his pit of despair.

"Master Spyro?"

The purple dragon rose to his paws and wiped his snout. "What is it Thraklor?" he sniffed.

"Cynder left a diary," he said hesitantly. The earth guardian paused for a moment to observe Spyro's reaction. Thankfully, he didn't appear hostile.

Spyro stared at him with red, swollen eyes. "Where is it?" he asked quietly.

"This way," he beckoned. Thraklor turned around and started in the direction of what Spyro assumed to be Warfang.

Spyro quickly followed, but each step felt incredibly heavy. The news of his lost friends and family was still sinking in. He swallowed nervously as they entered the once great city. He could see run-down buildings and miniature craters in the ground. Unfortunately for Spyro, the more evident the signs of war, the foggier his thought became.

Reflecting upon Thraklor's words, trepidation cascaded upon his mental being. He had suddenly become fearful of what his mate might have written. The insecurities shook him far greater than any earthquake ever could.

Questions began to rise. What had she written about everybody? About him? Had she found someone else during the time in which he played prisoner? Had she only visiting him out of guilt or pity? A part of him didn't want to go within twenty feet of the journal, but the rest of him was determined to read its contents. Spyro continued to guess what the entries in her diary spoke about, but was interrupted.

"Master Spyro," Thraklor called, "we're here."

Spyro looked up attentively to find that they had stopped in the middle of an old hall. Looking around, he could make out the various designs on the walls, floors, and ceiling. The faded patterns took some effort on his part to decipher, but he recognized the wavy patterns that had once adorned the hall Cynder had slept in. Standing before him was a large wooden door. It was big enough for an adult dragon to walk through without having to adjust to its frame. Unlike the hall, this door was unmarked by the skilled artisans that were the moles.

Spyro didn't know what to say to Thraklor for bringing him there, except for the obvious. "Thank you." Thraklor nodded and moved out of the way, leaving Spyro standing directly in front of the door without any obstacle around him. He motioned towards the door and laid a paw on it, but didn't apply pressure. Thraklor tilted his head slightly, confused by the purple savior's lack of movement. Several moments passed before the new earth guardian started to show signs of worry.

"Is something the matter?"

Spyro blinked once and shook his head. "No. It's just that…" he said, trailing off for a second. He sighed. "This is—_was_ her room, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Spyro pushed forward and was blasted by a wave of her scent. He savored the sweet aroma for as long as he could. Once her aroma had been fully absorbed, the purple dragon spent a few minutes studying Cynder's room and found nary a change since he was last here.

A medium-sized oak desk sat near the window. A few books, as well as a few small trinkets, were placed on its smooth surface. A dozen candles were scattered throughout the room. His eyes dove towards Cynder's bed. Next to it was a small nightstand with a single drawer, but he ignored it. His focus was centered on the bed. It had room for another.

Out of the corner of his eye, one of the trinkets caught a ray from the sun and gleamed for a quarter of a heartbeat. Spyro walked over to the oaken desk and picked up the shining item. It was a small, circular object he had never seen before. It looked like a silver necklace. There was a chain looped through a small ring at the top. On the opposite end of the necklace, there was a latch. He flicked the latch and it opened to reveal numbers underneath. Three short, thin sticks protruded from the center. They each pointed in a different direction and were misaligned with the numbers. Protecting it all was a hard, glass-like barrier of sorts that prevented the numbers as well as the sticks from being damaged. Spyro closed the object and scanned the surface for any more clues that would tell him what it was. His eyes traveled across the front of the silver and he turned it over. A forlorn shadow cast upon his face. Engraved on the back of the metal was Cynder's name. Still clutching the mysterious object in his paw, he turned around and looked at Thraklor with an asking glance.

"It's a watch," he answered. "They were used to tell the time," Thraklor explained.

Spyro gripped the watch tighter. A thin tear trailed down his cheek and landed on its gleaming surface. He grabbed it by the chain and stuck his head through it. He let go of the watch and it fell to his chest. He scanned the other contents on the desk.

"Where is it?" Spyro spoke, without looking up. Thraklor shot him a confused look. "Where is Cynder's diary?"

"I believe it was in one of those drawers."

Spyro's eyes drifted towards the handles of the drawers on the desk. He opened them one by one, searching the contents of each. His search yielded nothing. He checked through them once more to make sure. He knew Thraklor wouldn't lie to him, but there were no other compartments connected to the desk. Spyro fell back on his haunches, feeling hopelessly empty. His tail dropped to the ground with a thud and shook the desk. The tremble caused something to move and roll off the table. The spherical object slowly rolled towards her bed and hit the nightstand parallel to it. Spyro's head perked up as he recalled it having a drawer. Hesitantly, he got up and gripped the handle on the nightstand. He pulled back and found an old black book. With a shaking paw, he picked it up carefully and sat on Cynder's bed, staring at what he believed to be her diary.

Seeing no purpose to be in his presence anymore, Thraklor slowly backed out of the doorway. "Master Spyro," he called, "I'll leave you here for now; I need to…speak with the other guardians." Again, Thraklor waited for a response, but was not acknowledged. With a short bow of respect, Thraklor closed the door and retreated down the hall. His fading footsteps echoed back to Cynder's room and fell deaf on the purple dragon's ears.

The cover of the book had no specials designs; it was plain as the walls of the room he was in. The back cover mirrored the front. Spyro slid a gentle claw under the cover and slowly lifted it. There was no name. The only things written in it were diary entries. If he wanted to find out if it did belong to his beloved, he would need to read. And so he began with the first entry.

_13th of Sundew_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** This chapter is the first of what will be the continuation of "Inner Sanctum" by Kuroy. I have permission to do this. Ask him if you'd like.

After this little story, I do have two more planned for this fandom. My other ideas are for The Lion King. Check those out if you're interested. (Greedy for reviews) :P

A small bit of thanks to Dardarax for supplying me with that little watch bit. And also for his indirect help with the months. I had no idea what to call them, so I used it as a base. Hope that he won't hurt me for using it :P

I also want to apologize if you see a drop in quality somewhere around the middle. I started this little "project" mid-summer and added onto it occasionally.

**Funfacts:**

**-**I started this over the summer. I think it was around July when I first messaged Kuroy about this.

-This first chapter is more of a test. I wanted to see what I could do with imagery.

-I actually don't like this chapter. It's easier to like the story as a whole if it's split into parts.

-This had originally been an idea for a oneshot.


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